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The Meadows / Stephanie Oakes

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Meadows
By: Stephanie Oakes
Genre: YA
Number of Pages: 448
Published: September 12, 2023
Publisher: Dial Books
Dates Read: September 5, 2023 - September 10, 2023
Format: ARC / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: conversion therapy, homophobia 

Every youth hopes to get a letter to attend one of the places where only the best and brightest go to be even better and brighter: the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows…

When Eleanor is accepted to go to the Meadows, it means her escape from the Cove and a hard life by the sea. But, though the Meadows is filled with beautiful and wonderful things, it hoards dark secrets: its purpose is to reform its students from their attractions, to show them that the way of life is only possible through their way. Maybe Eleanor starts to believe, but then she meets Rose, and everything changes.

A year after leaving the Meadows, Eleanor and her friends are on the outside, living back in society – but not everything is as they hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, someone who makes sure former students haven’t strayed from the lives they were trained to live. But the past isn’t letting go of Eleanor and as secrets unravel, Eleanor must fight against everything she has been taught to be, especially if she can find the girl that she lost.

I originally was interested in this title when I saw it on BookishFirst because it was being marketed as “a queer, YA Handmaid’s Tale meets Never Let Me Go” and I was all about that. I also love a good dystopian novel so this was really right up my alley.

That being said, I absolutely loved and devoured this novel over the course of the weekend when I didn’t have the interruption of work. The world building is intriguing and the “perfect” society is everything but (aren’t they all). The characters were also complex and engrossing – even the ones I wasn’t the biggest fans of, I still wanted them to succeed.

I absolutely recommend this book to those not only those who love dystopian novels, but those who want a page turning science fiction with queer characters.

*Thank you Dial Books and BookishFirst for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Bea Wolf / Zach Weinersmith

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The cover of graphic novel "Bea Wolf" with a little girl with a teddy bear head with cape on as she stands on a golden stack of sweets and treats and stuffed animals
Bea Wolf
By: Zach Weinersmith
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 208
Published: March 21, 2023
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: February 27, 2023 - February 28, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

In this middle grade retelling of Beowulf, a gang of troublemaking kids must defend their treehouse fort, Treeheart, from a boring, fun-hating adult, Grindle who can turn the kids into boring teens and adults with just a touch of his finger.

Just going to start this off with the claim that I don’t believe I ever read Beowulf – there may have been a time in high school when I should have read it when we were in the unit of classics, but I tended to fight against being told what to read at that time.

I wanted to read this one graphic novel because of the cover – I immediately fell in love with the little girl on the cover. The illustrations were gorgeous and beautiful to look at and that’s what kept my attention the most.

Since this was a retelling, Zach Weinersmith used the formatting and style methods from the original Beowulf, which they talk about at the end in a note (which I was laughing at their call out to being either a librarian or a future writer as to why exactly you were reading a super long note written by the author in the first place)

This will be a different reading style for Middle Grade readers, but I believe once they get started on reading it, they will get the rhythm of it and they’ll fly through it in no time with giggles erupting with every page.

Bea Wolf is fun for everyone, all ages will be laughing at the shenanigans of the kids from Treeheart and their allies.  

*Thank you NetGalley and First Second for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Moth Keeper / K. O’Neill

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The Moth Keeper
By: K. O'Neill
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 272
Published: March 7, 2023
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Dates Read: February 20, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths. Lunar moths help the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year and her village uses the flower’s nectar to thrive and survive. But, the nights in the desert are cold and lonely, and Anya finds being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what she thought it would be. She finds herself wondering what it would be like to feel the sun’s warmth. One day, she decides to stay up during the day to experience the sun and her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences of her choice.

I absolutely adored the Tea Dragon Society series, so I knew as soon as I saw K. O’Neill had a new graphic novel coming out, so I needed to read it as soon as possible.

It wasn’t a disappointment.

This is a story about burnout and loneliness that is written alongside beautiful artwork from K. O’Neill that is done in such a way that younger audiences will be able to understand the message too.

Overall, this is a beautiful and gentle graphic novel that I can see those of all age groups loving and enjoying – both for the story and for the art.

*Thank you Random House Graphic and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez / Claire Jiménez

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The cover of What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez. A drawn photo of the back of a young woman, above her shoulders. She has tan skin, medium hoop earrings, and bright red hair in a bun. She also has a birth mark under her left eye that you can see on her cheek.
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez
By: Claire Jiménez
Genre: Contemporary
Number of Pages: 240
Published: March 7, 2023
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Dates Read: February 19, 2023 - February 20, 2023
Format: ARC / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Discussion of rape and molestation, missing child(ren)

13-year-old Ruthie Ramirez disappeared without a trace from a bus stop after track practice in 1996. Her disappearance rocked the Ramirez family and they were never able to fully recover. Then, one night, twelve years later, older sister Jessica spots a splitting image of their sister on a reality TV show called Catfight, she even has the beauty mark under the left eye that is instantly recognizable.

In 2008, Ruthy’s mother, Dolores, still struggles with the loss, older sister Jessica now has a newborn baby and works at the hospital, and younger sister Nina, after four years away at college, is now back and living with their mom and is forced to work a job at the lingerie store at the mall.

After the sisters see the could-be-Ruthy, they hatch a plan to go down to where the show is filming to see if they can confirm who they think she is. When Dolores also sees the could-be-Ruthy herself, she insists on joining, and dragging along her best friend, Irene. The Ramirez women then set on a road trip that forces them to face their past and look towards the future, with or without the could-be-Ruthy.

This is both a heartwarming and a heartbreaking novel. The chapters jump around between the Ramirez women, including Ruthy back in 1996 on the day of her disappearance. By doing this, Jiménez is able to show you each of their thoughts and feelings, which really humanizes the whole thing and makes it feel authentic.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez was also a pretty quick read for me as well, the only reason it took me two days was because I started it later in the evening on the 19th. The writing style and language of this novel are smooth and easy flowing, regardless of whose POV the chapter was written in. This style also keeps the mystery of what really happened to Ruthy up until the very end – did she get taken or did she simply run away and refuse to talk to her family again?

I can easily see this book becoming a Book Club favorite in libraries as well as highly talked about once it’s released in a few weeks. Anyone who likes to read about a complicated family dynamic, especially based around women, will greatly enjoy this book.

*Thank you Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review